Nba Playoffs First Round | featured news

Sure, basketball is a team sport, but NBA games are often won and lost by individual matchups. Here are five to watch in the first round of the playoffs....

After a total of seven overtimes in the first six games, the Celtics made an early night of it as they beat Chicago in regulation in their first-round Eastern Conference series.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds, a dominating performance that powered the Magic to a 91-78 victory over the Sixers on Tuesday night and gave Orlando a 3-2 series lead.

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge helped the Blazers stave off elimination on Tuesday.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points and the Mavericks won a playoff series for the first time since 2006, eliminating the Spurs in five games with a 106-93 victory Tuesday night.

The Denver Nuggets tonight tied an NBA All-time Record set in 1956 for the largest margin of Victory in a Playoff game when they beat the New Orleans Hornets by 58 points! This is an astonishing feat.

Mike Bibby scored 15 points, Pachulia had 12 points and 18 rebounds, and Atlanta frustrated an ailing Dwyane Wade to beat the Miami Heat 81-71 Monday night, tying the first-round Eastern Conference series at two games apiece.

Another playoff thriller between Chicago and Boston, and this one went to the Bulls. Ben Gordon scored 22 points, hitting the tying 3-pointer in the first overtime, and the Bulls beat the Celtics 121-118 in double overtime Sunday to tie their first-round series at two games apiece. The teams split two tight games in Boston, before the Celtics blew out the Bulls in Game 3. This time, they stretched the drama into a second overtime. Derrick Rose added 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Three years ago the Dallas Mavericks were on the precipice of fulfilling their potential.

They held a two-games-to-none lead over Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat. They had completed a playoff run that included a Game Seven win in San Antonio (in overtime, no less) and a Conference Finals-clinching win in Phoenix over Steve Nash's Suns.